Hassan Abdus-Sabur told congressional candidate LaMonica McIver on Friday that he planned to say he lied when he told the New Jersey Globe that he and others circulated nominating petitions to get McIver on the ballot for the July 16 special Democratic primary.
His statement came after McIver sent a text message to Abdus-Sabur, her council aide.
“Just so you know, he’s running everything that you said word by word and sharing your group text message that are with 13 people including Debra Salters and your cousin Felicia Alston about you telling them you collected your own signatures,” McIver wrote.
Abdus-Sabur told McIver of his game plan.
“I lied and I misspoke. That’s what I will go on the record and say,” Abdus-Sabur stated. “I lied and I misspoke. I will go to my grave and say that!”
McIver filed with 1,081 signatures on her nominating petition for the seat of the late Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-Newark), who died four weeks ago.
The petitions had just one circulator, Robin McIver, the candidate’s mother.
A legal challenge to the petitions mounted by one of her primary opponents, Brittany Claybrooks, alleges that one circulator could not possibly have gathered that many signatures in less than three days.
Abdus-Sabur refuted the idea that Robin McIver got all the signatures herself.
“I helped collect signatures. We were all out collecting signatures,” said Abdus-Sabur. “Everybody collected signatures.”
He also said that “one circulator didn’t circulate 1,000 signatures.”
“I helped collect signatures. I’m speaking for myself. I collected signatures,” Adbus-Sabur said.